Electronic timing device



Aug. 9, 1949. R. R. HARRls 2,478,482

I ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Filed Aug. l, 1947 l1 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 9,1949. R. R. HARRIS 2,478,482

ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Filed Aug. 1, 1947 11 sheets-sheet 2 ATTORNEYSINVENTOR Aug. 9, 1949. R. R. HARRIS ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE 11Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. l, 1947 mi mb QS l l l l l l l R.R.Harrz'sINVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug- 9, 1949 R. R. HARRIS 2,478,482

ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Filed Aug. l, 1947 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORBY l l 4 ATTORNEYS ug- 9, 1949 R. R. HARRIS 2,478,482

ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Filed Aug. l, 1947 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 IIIII I IO I I I I 7/ z i laf l I l I I I l l I I I I O O O INVENTOR Aug. 9,1949. R, R, HARRIS 2,478,482

ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Filed Aug. l, 1947 l11 Sheets-Sheet 6R.P.Hart'9 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug. 9, 1949. R. R. HARRIS ELECTRONICTIMING DEVICE 11 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 Harris INVENTOPATTORNEYS R. R. HARRIS ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE Aug. 9, 1949.

11 Sheets-Shet 8 Filed Aug. l, 1947 RRHanis INVENTOR l l j BY 7 1 f fATTORNEYS Aug. 9, 1949. R. R. HARRIS ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE l1Sheets-Sheet l9 Filed Aug. l, 1947 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug. 9, 1949. R.R. HARRIS ELECTRONIC TIMING DEVICE `1l Sheets-Sheet lO Filed Aug. l,1947 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Aug 9, 1949 R. R. HARRIS ELECTRONIC TIMINGDEVICE 11 Sheets-Shes?I 11 Filed Aug. l, 1947 umg INVENTOR ATTORNEYSPatented Aug. 9, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRONIC TIMINGDEVICE Richard R. Harris, Ojus, Fla.

Application August 1, 1947, Serial No. 765,427

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in timing devices, and moreparticularly to the provision of a timing device of the electronic typefor timing sporting events such as dog and horse races, and the like.

Devices heretofore provided for timing races have been objectionable inthat they were not automatic and required manual control which made themsubject to errors due to the human factor. Also, the marking on dialsused by such devices were crowded and close together rendering themillegible at great distances and diicult to read at short distances.Also, the photoelectric relay used in such devices will operate to stopthe timer at any time the light beam is broken during the period ofoperation, and thus stopping the timer before the end of the event beingtimed. Further, such timers are capable of registering a time lapse nolower than V second, which is not close enough for accurate tim- 111g.

The device is truly automatic in that after the power is turned on bypushing a button, the device will time a race, stop for a predeterminedinterval, and reset itself for the timing of the next race. The timingoperations and resetting will continue as long as the power is on.

An object is to provide an electronic timer which cannot be stoppeduntil the end of a race. This is accomplished by placing a smallauxiliary lamp in a photoelectric cell housing, which lamp constantlydirects rays to the photo cell in addition to the rays from a secondlight across the racetrack, which second light has no effect on thesmall lamp rays until the lamp within the housing has been extinguishedby the closing of a switch or the light by a lure, in the case of rabbitand greyhound races, and the second light takes control. When a dogpasses the iinish line, the beam from the second light across the trackis interrupted and the photoelectric relay operates to instantly stopthe timer. Thus, the operation of the timer cannot be stopped until thelure, which is the rabbit moving on a track, has closed the switch.

A further object is to provide a timing device which can be readilyadapted and adjusted to accommodate peculiar and special incidents ofracing competition between men, boats or aircraft, animals, vehicles, sothat the winning speed by time-for-distance can be accurately determinedand authoritative records established.

In greyhound racing where the competing animals are enticed and paced togreatest eiort by electrically propelled and controlled lures, such asstuffed rabbits, the timer can be adjusted so that the forerunning lureor pace setter will not interfere with the timing of the competing dogs,irrespective of the number of times around'the track that the particularrace may be run.

These and other objects are attained by the novel construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated by theaccompanying drawings, forming a part hereof and in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic wiring diagram of a section of a timing deviceembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a further schematic wiring diagram tieing in with the diagramshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a further schematic wiring diagram tieing in with the diagramshown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side view diagrammatically showing the arrangement of partsin the device.

Fig. 4a is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 isa side View showing the arrangement of parts of a motor driventime relay.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of certain parts of a relayused in the device.

Fig. '7 is a front View of a dial used in the device.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view showing the positioning of the timing apparatus on a`race track.

Fig.10 is a view showing the arrangement of a light source and a-photoelectric relay relative to a track.

Fig. 11 is a. view showing the arrangement of parts of a timing motordevice used in the apparatus.

Fig. 12 is a view showing the arrangements of contacts of a tally usedin connection with an indicating dial.

Fig. 13 is a view of a step by step ratchet device used in connectionwith the arrangement shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a front view of the timing device.

Fig. 15 is a side view of the device of Fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a view of a spiral spring used on a reset relay.

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic view of sections of a tally indicator.

Fig. 18 is a view of an electro-magnet and contact making device for usewith a section of the indicator.

In accordance with the invention, a photoelectric relay is mounted atthe finish line of a race track, and is connected with a timing devicehaving a dial as shown in Fig, 7, which is traversed by a hand |21, madeof Balsa Wood or the like. The dial 200 which is a complete circle of360 is divided into 10 sections, each of which is divided into 10 parts.The hand or pointer |21 makes 6 revolutions per minute, so that eachsmall division on the dial represents 116 second. The dial is preferablyfive feet in diameter and preferably made of sand blasted plate glasswith the divisions marked in black, and the dial is illuminated from therear enabling it to be read at a distance of 500 feet. The dial isunique in that a dial of feet in diameter with the timing mechanismdescribed herein enables spacing that would require a dial of 30 feet indiameter with other timing devices. The number of revolutions of thehand |21 can be increased from 6 per minute to any desired number.

Referring to Figs. 9 and 10, the arrangement of the apparatus on a trackis shown. The photoelectric relay 9 is positioned on the side of thetrack opposite the lure car rail. A small lamp 32 located inside thephotoelectric relay housing is so placed as to Idirect its light rays onto the photoelectric tube. This lamp keeps the photoelectric tubeenergized which causes it to generate a small electric current which isamplified and passed through the coil of a sensitive relay. As long aslight falls on the photoelectric tube the relay remains open. Anotherlight source 20| is located across the race track and so placed that thelight from it is directed on to the same photoelectric tube. So long asthe small lamp 32 inside the photoelectric relay housing is sendingforth light rays and shines on the photoelectric tube, the second light20| located across the race track has no effect on the operation of thephotoelectric relay. At the end of a race when the lure car passes thefinish line and arrives at a point 5 feet past the finish line, it doeseither one of two things; it closes a track switch or passes through thelight beam of a separate photoelectric relay. This causes a relay on thetimer to open and remove or turn off the power to the small lamp 32located inside the housing. Immediately as this lamp is extinguished`the light source 20| is in control of the nish line photoelectric relay9.

The relay remains open because the light from the light source locatedacross the vtrack keeps the photo tube energized. When the dog or othercontestant passes in front of the light from source 20|, it blacks outthe light to the photo relay 9 and the tube is deenergized, current tothe relay is decreased to the drop out point and the relay closes andapplies power to relay I on the timer which trips relays 3, 4, 5,16, 1and |25 on the timer, as hereinafter explained. The timer stops and thereset relay starts and will reset the timer back to the home position inthe time it is set for. When the light beam across the track wasinterrupted power to the small lamp 32 inside the housing was restoredand it took control of the relay and will remain in control so long asit remains in alight emitting condition. There are two lamps 32 in thisdevice so that the possibility of both burning out at one time isremote.

The apparatus comprises a photoelectric relay mounted `on the outside ofthe track and connected by suitable wires to the timer 203 which ismounted on the inner side of the track. A light source 20| is positionedon the inner side of the track between the track and the rail 205 forthe lure car. The light source 20| is positioned directly opposite therelay 9 so that its rays are directed on lthe photoelectric cell ofrelai7 9, and a track switch 28 is mounted on the rail a short distancefrom the light source 20|. The starting box 204 from which the dogs orother contestants leave is arranged so that when the box is opened itcloses switch 28 or switch 21, depending upon the timing desired, thatis the time delay before the switch 28 will be able to be eifective.Micro-switch 28 is connected to the timer bysuitable Wires.

The timer is contained in a housing 206 (Fig. 14) and has mounted in thelower part thereof a motor 42 having a shaft 201 to which are xed IcamsI5I, |52, |50 arranged to respectively engage micro-switches 22, 23, 2|(see Fig. 1l) Relays I, 2, 3, 4, 5 are mounted in the housing above therelay 8. Above the main housing 200 are mounted the motors 12 which areconnected by gears 209 and 2|0 to shaft |28, which carries cam 64 anddetent members 65 and 06 and the hand |21, the latter moving behind thedial 200.

Mounted above shaft |28 is a shaft 2II of the reset relay which isconnected by gears |29 and 89 to the motor 86. Mounted on the shaft 2IIare cams 95, 96, 91, 98 and a clutch 88, the latter being controlled byan arm 90 and a spring |33. An electromagnet 81 tends to move the arm 90to clutching position and a spring |34 tends to normally move the arm toclutch release position. The cams on the shaft are arranged to engagecontacts 9|, 92, 93, 94 and are adjustable on the shaft. At one end ofthe shaft 2II is a collar |32 having an arm 2|2 adapted to engage a stop2|3 to limit the movement of the shaft, and connected to the shaft is aspiral spring I3I to return the shaft to its initial position (see Fig.5).

The tally mechanism comprises a shaft 2 I4 upon which are mounted IIB,|I1, ||8, II9, |20, I2| respectively engaging micro-switches 99, |02,|03, |04, |05, |06. Attached to the shaft 2M is a ratchet Wheel 2|0engaging a pawl 2 I1 connected to a spring and controlled by coil |00.The teeth of the wheel 2I6 are engaged by an arm 2li) attached to a bellcrank 220 connected to a spring 2 I 8, the movements of the arm and bell.crank being limited by stops 222 and 223. The ratchet is moved step bystep `by the impulse relay IOI (see Figs. 12 and 13).

|06 and I2| close on the first impulse, and remain closed until relay isreturned to its home or initial position by a spring 2|5. `Cam II1closes |02, a micro-switch, on the first impulse, IIS closes and I|1opens on the second impulse, I|8 closes and IIB opens on third impulse,|20 closes and I I9 opens on the fourth impulse. IIB opens on the rstimpulse and remains open until the relay returns to its home position.

The structure shown in Figs. 12 and 13 control circuits to the tallydevice which comprises two windows in a housing 2I8 mounted above thedial, and in which the 10 second intervals of time are recorded. Thehousing 208 has a plurality of metal tubes 224 with glass windows 225,through which pass light from incandescent lamps mounted in keylesslampholders 226 (see Figs. 7, 8). The lamps are included in a pluralityof circuits to produce a plurality of numerals, the

gram, Fig. 1, which in turn closes the hot side of line to coils 39 and4| of relays 4 and 5. The timer is now connected to switches 26 and 21on the starting boxes. When the timer starts and makes one revolution-or ten seconds, it will apply power to coil 34 and relay 2 and opencontacts This will remove power from coils 39 and 4| of relays 4 and 5.This prevents false starts or over runs caused by accidental closing ofswitches 26 or 21. Power is applied to coil 34 of relay 2 by connectingit in parallel with coil of tally selector relay.

Starting from the box 204, Fig. 9, switch 26 or switch 21 will closewhen doors of starting box are opened. This will complete the circuitthrough coils 39 or 4|, depending on whether 26 or 21 was the switchclosed.v If 26 is closed, contacts |1, 8, |9, and 20 of relay 5 willclose. Contacts |1 will connect one side of coil 44 of relay 1 to trackswitch 28. Contacts I8 will connect one side of coil 31, relay 3 to onecontact 24 of relay 1. Contacts |9 close a circuit 29 and 30 which isconnected to 52 and 53 (Fig. 2). Contacts 20 connect coil 46 of relay 6to contacts 22 of the time relay 8. When contacts |9 of relay 5 closethey apply power to coil 6| of relay |22 and contacts 60 open. Power tocoil 1| pulls down stop lever 68, against the action of spring |35, andremoves pawl 202, from slot |40 of Cam 66 and contacts 61 close. Poweris applied to relay |23, through the center of contact 54 to coil 10which pulls lever 69 down and out of mesh with gear 65. and the timehand |21 starts to rotate. As the timer main shaft |28 turns, cam 64turns with it. In iive seconds from the start, projection |29 engages 62and close contact which applies power to coil 13 of relay |24 and closecontacts 11 and locks them in closed position. As shaft |28 continues torevolve, projection |29 of cam 64 engages 63, closing the contactsmomentarily and applies power to coil |0|. The tally selector relaymakes one impulse, closes contacts |02 by cam ||1, |06 by cam |2|, andopens contacts 99 by cam H6. This is l0 seconds, and 10 seconds appearson the tally indicator. As the hand continues to revolve, projection |29engages 63 at 20 seconds, applies power to |0| and the tally relay makesanother impulse, cam ||1 moves forward, opens |02, cam ||8 closes |03and 20 seconds appears on the tally indicator. This continues until thetimer is stopped.

When contacts |9 of relay 5 are closed, they also apply power to motor42 of relay 8. This is a one minute maximum delay relay. On relay 5 thedelay is 20 seconds, on relay 4 the delay is 10 seconds. As thedescription is concerned with relay 5, the delay will be 20 seconds. At20 seconds contacts 22 will close, and power will go from 22 on 8 to 20on 5 to coil 46 on 6, which will close and lock in, close 25 andcomplete the circuit through coil 44 of relay 1 to contacts I1 of relay5 to track switch 28. When the lure car passes the switch 28 at the endof the race, it will make momentary contact by closing the switch. Thiswill contact 24 by applying power to coil 44 of relay 1. When contacts24 closed they completed the circuit of coil 31, relay 3, throughcontacts I8 of relay 5. This causes contacts |2 of relay 3 to open andremove power from transformer 41 which in turn removes power fromby-pass lamp 32 in photo relay 9. This allows main light source 20| totake control. When this light beam is interrupted contacts 3| of photorelay 9 will close and apply power to coil 33 of Power is applied totiming motor 12 relay l. This will close contacts |0 and apply power tocoils 36, 38, 40, 43, 45, 14. This will trip relays 3, 4, 5, 6, 1 and|25, and the timer will stop. Relay |22 will close and contacts 60 willapply power to motor 86 and coil 81 of the reset relay. The arm 81 willpull in the clutch 88, and the motor 86 will start the shaft to revolve.As cams 95, 96, 91 and 98 travel forward they will close contacts 9|,92, 93, 94. Cams 98, 96 cause the machine to reset after 2 minutes andcams 91, 95 cause the machine to reset after 5 minutes to 15 minutes,the cams being adjustable. When cams 98, 96 close contacts 9|, 93, thecontact 9| will close 15 seconds before 93 and apply power to coil 55 ofrelay |23 through contacts 61 on arm. 68 held closed by cam 66. Contacts54 will make contact with |62 and apply power to coil 10 and pull downthe lever 69, apply power to motor 12 and the hand |21 will revolveuntil the pawl on arm 68 drops into the slot |40 on cam 66. This willopen 61 and remove power from 10 and 12. The hand will be stopped atzero position. 15 seconds later cam 96 will close contact 93. This willapply power to coil 16 of relay |25. Contact 18 will move from |63 to|64, apply power to coil |00, and trip tally selector relay to allowcams ||6, ||1, ||8, ||9, |20, |2| to return to oil position. Contacts|06, |05, |04, |03, |02, |0| will open. Contact 99 will close. Whenrelay |25 opened 18 and |63, it removed power from motor 86 and coil 81,clutch 88 springs open and cams 95, 96, 91, 98 return to off position bythe action of spring 3|. The timer now is completely reset and ready forthe next race.

The same operating procedure can be employed where pace-Setters are usedinstead of lures; however, the timer can be adjusted to accommodateraces or exhibitions in which neither lures or pace-Setters are used.

As stated above the tally selector has a. housing 2|8 with two windowswhich are associated with compartments and ||2. The tube 224 preventsthe light from the several lamps interfering with each other.Compartment has 23 lamps 33|, 332, 334, 335, 336, 331, 338, 339, 340,34|, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 341, 348, 349, 350, 35|, 352, 353 and 333.The compartment ||2 has a plurality of lamps arranged to form a zero.The function of the tally relay is to change the ccnnections to thelamps in compartment to form the numerals 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Referring to Fig. 17, the selector is shown to comprise four sections,|08, |01, |09 and ||0 each of which has twelve bronze spring wirecontacts |61, insulated from each other.

Associated with the four sections of contacts |61 are electromagnets|43, |44, ||4 and |42, respectively, Since the structure of the foursections and magnets are identical, one only will be described. Thecontacts are connected to the lamps.

Referring to section |09 and electromagnet ||4, see Figs. 17 and 18, thecontacts |61 are engaged by a cross bar |45 attached to an arm of anangle lever |69, the other arm of which is attracted by an electromagnet4 to cause the cross bar |45 to engage the contacts |61. A spring |46tends to move the lever |68 to a disengaging position, the tension ofthe spring being adjustable by a nut |48, which abuts a post |41 throughwhich one end of the spring passes. The lamps in compartments and ||2are grounded as indicated in Fig. 3, and the contacts of the foursections are arranged in circuits to form the numerals 1, 2, 3, or 4.

In operation, as the timer starts to turn, the projection |29 on cam 54closes switch 63 to apply power to coil IGI. This occurs seconds afterthe shaft carrying the cam 64 started to turn. This produces an impulseto cause shaft 2|4 to turn and cause cam H1 to inove forward (see Figs.1, 12, 13) and close contact |52, one element of which is connected to alive wire and the other element connected to the electromagnet |42,which is grounded. One of the wire contacts |61 is connected to a livewire (see Fig. 1) and the current is conducted to the other contacts bythe M145, the lamps in compartment being grounded to complete thecircuit. Magnet |42 is associated with section IIU, and when the bar |45engages the contacts IG'I, a circuit is cornpleted through the indicatorlamps 333, 337, 34|, 345, 348 and 352 to form the numeral one. At thesame time cam |2| closes switch |06, one element of which is connectedto compartment I I2, which is grounded, and the other element of switch|06 is connected to a live wire (see Fig. 1). This lights the lamps incompartment I I2 to form a zero.

Contacts |02 remain engaged until the timer main shaft |28 has completedthe second revolution, which is seconds from the start, at which timepower is again applied to coil 50| and cam moves forward and opensswitch 502, removing power from magnet |42 and spring |43 pulls the bar|45 clear of the wire contacts I4? of section I I0, and the lampsshowing the numeral one are extinguished. Cam ||8 has now moved to closethe switchV |03 and power is delivered to magnet ||4 to cause the bar|45 associated with I|4 to engage the contacts I4? of section |69 andform a circuit through lamps 332, 333, 335, 338, 34|, 344, 347, 350,35|, 352, and 353 to produce the numeral two, on the indicator.

When the main shaft |23 makes another revolution, cam |I9 closes switch|83 to produce numeral three by means of the circuit resulting from thearrangement of the contacts |61 in section |08. Similarly, anotherrotation of the main shaft will cause cam |23 to close switch |05 toproduce the numeral four by means of section |01.

The operation of the timer has been hereinbefore described for a 20second delay when switch 26 is closed. When a 10 second delay isdesired, switch 21 is closed. Switches 26 and 21 are micro-switchescontrolled by the opening of the starting gate or boX 204. When switch21 is closed, contacts |3, I4, I5, I6 of relay 4 are closed. Contact |3connects one side 0f coil 44 to switch 28, which is a micro-switch.Contacts I4 connect one side of coil 3l of relay 3 to one contact ofswitch 24 of relay l. Contact I5 closes circuit 29, 30, which isconnected to terminals 5,2, 53 of Fig. 2. Contacts |6 connect one sideof coil 46, relay 6, to contact 2|, relay 8 (10 second delay). Terminals48 and 4S connect coils 34 and |0| in parallel, and terminal 85 connectsone element of switch I0, Fig. 1, to one side of coil '14, Fig. 3.

Referring to the reset mechanism, coil 'I5 is energized to closecontacts 18 and |63. Contacts 54, and |54, of relay |23 are normallyclosed.

Referring to the reset relays, as cam 38 rotates, switch 84 is closedenergizing coil 8| to close contacts 'I9 to complete the circuit throughcoil 55 to ground when switch 9| is closed. Similarly, rotation of cam96 closes switch 83 to energize coil 82 to close contacts 80 to close acircuit through coil 'I6 and switch 33 to ground. See relay |26.

From the above description it will be seen that there has been providedan eiiectively operating device for automatically timing a dog race inwhich a lure is used, or other races. The device automatically resetsitself, and when once started, no further manual operations arerequired.

The above description is to be considered as illustrative and notlimitative of the invention of which modications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. In combination with a race track having a rail` upon which a luremovsfma p hotoelectricw relayhaving a photo" tube, said relaybeingpositioned at the iinish line of the track, a light sourcepositioned at the finish line across the track from the relay and havingits rays directed on the photo tube, a lamp mounted in the relay andhaving its rays directed on the photo tube, means controlled by the lureafter passing the finish line to extinguish the lamp, and a timingdevice controlled by the relay.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the meanscontrolled by the lure comprising a switch mounted on the rail.

3. In combination with a race track having a movable lure associatedtherewith, a micro-switch adapted to be momentarily closed by the lure,starting boxes for the contestants adapted to be simultaneously opened,a switch arranged to be closed by the opening of the boxes, a timingdevice adapted to be set in operation by the closing of the switch, aphotoelectric relay positioned at the nish line of the track, a lampnear the relay and having its rays directed on the photo tube of therelay, a light source having its rays directed on the photo tube of therelay, said lamp being extinguished when the microswitch is closed, saidtiming device being stopped when the lamp has been extinguished and therays from the light source are interrupted, and a time delay relay inthe time device to cause the microswitch to be eiective after apredetermined delay.

RICHARD R. HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,220,109 Heiny Mar. 20, 19171,289,371 Blades Dec. 31, 1918 2,239,894 Keen Apr. 29, 1941 2,351,707Rouprich June 20, 1944

